How do i make my family understand me??????????!

How do i make my family understand me??????????

I have been feeling super depressed for a long time now. I don't go out that much and this is starting to cause alot of resentment toward me from my family.

I never go out anymore and i spend all day in bed or in my room. My family thinks i'm lazy and i am probably am.

I hate going outdoors, if i do its a big thing for me (even i go the local shops). If i know i have to go out, i'll obsess for several hours before and i also feel sick and nervous. When i'm actually out, i feel like a fish out of water, i feel everyone is watching me and i can't wait to get home. i hate meeting my friends and seeing how well they are doing is super depressing, i feel like failure.

The only thing i really enjoy now is sleeping, because i don't have to deal with being me.

I know i have to change and i'm trying to. But i would really appreciate it if someone could understand me for once.

How do i make them understand????

I am sorry you are having such a hard time with your family's lack of understanding. It sounds to me as though you may be clinically depressed. There are usually many reasons why someone becomes depressed, and therefore you may need several forms of treatment at once. The first important thing to recognise, is that you have asked for help, that is a major breakthrough.

You are not a failure, and help is out there, but it can be a lengthy process.

Firstly, you must see your Doctor and explain everything you have said above. Although such depression can be easily diagnosed, there may be other underlying causes. Your doctor can do various things including prescribing anti-depressants and referring you for counselling. I suffered such depression for 20years, anti-depressants didn't really help me and made me sleep almost 20 hours a day. After many years of various therapies, I had a course of six Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) sessions and they changed my life. I have not suffered from depression for over two years now, I never thought that would be possible. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Once you have seen your doctor, if you get a diagnosis, get as much information on depression as you can, and approach the most approachable member of your family and get them to read the leaflets or visit the doctor with you. It is vital that they understand. Comments like "pull yourself together" and "what have you got to be depressed about" are at best unhelpful, at worst very damaging. You need to be taken seriously, and listened to. Explain to your family that you don't want them to fix the problem, because they can't, but just to listen, to take time out to ask how you are feeling and offer a smile or a hug.

Before they can understand, you need to understand what is going on with you. That clinical depression is not about any one thing, but a number of things, and can be physical, psychological or both.

It will take time to heal, you may have many setbacks, but with appropriate help, you will get there. If your GP doesn't understand, see another one, and don't stop until you get one who understands depression and takes your treatment seriously. Take any therapy offered, there will one day be a breakthrough, but you have to understand that you may have a hard time getting there. Hope and help is out there, you are not lazy, you are just not well. Depression is as real as any other illness, and needs appropriate medical intervention.

I wish you every success and am really proud of this step you have taken. Good luck, and god bless.